Wazzup Pilipinas!?
It is simple for potential pet owners to decide what type of pet they should get based on their love for pets and their fascination with any specific type. From dogs and cats to guinea pigs and rabbits to parrots and cuckoos, the choices are many, but the scale usually weighs heavily in favor of dogs. Dogs have been our most faithful companions through the centuries.
Domesticated canines come in all shapes and sizes, and many dog breeds can aid various human activities like hunting and assisting criminal investigators. One of the reasons dogs find so much favor from humans is that they are the most expressive animals that can communicate very closely with humans. Whether expressing puppy love or begging for one more treat, dog parents can read their pet's mind by observing their behavior.
Ø The dog's body language tells that it's all about love
The bonding between dog owners and the dogs is the most critical factor determining whether pets feel they have met the perfect match. Being highly expressive, dogs lose no opportunity to convey their emotions to endorse or reject the relationship with the pet owners. Dog parents, too, can easily understand that some quick little tail wags and big wide eyes are signs of intense pleading for an extra treat. When a dog shies away with a bowed head, it is a sign of apologizing while admitting some mischief, like chewing on the cushion coach.
To show their love for their owners, dogs usually sprint to the door as soon as the bell rings, and the owner returns home after five minutes or many hours at the end of the day. When you feel let down or in grief and become reclusive for some reason, the dog will lie with its head on your lap as if to console you.
On a cold night, you might find your dog finding its way under the blanket with an intense desire to snuggle with you. The dog cannot afford to lose sight of you and would prefer to be by your side always and follow you wherever you go around the house. The dog will try to be with you, whether you are in the bathroom trying to seek intense privacy, getting dinner ready in the kitchen, or doing some housekeeping in the living room. Even when you sit quietly in one place, they sit on your feet or lean on you. All these actions have one thing in common – the dog's affection and love for its owner.
The dogs have no inhibitions to displaying emotions that underline true love for humans, especially their owners. Humans can learn what PDA (public display of affection) means from dogs.
Ø Cats express love for their owners differently
Despite not being as apparent as dogs in expressing their feelings for you, there are some signs to detect the cat's love for you. Unlike dogs that display their emotions emphatically, cats are a bit reticent and might stay aloof, often without acknowledging their owner's presence. However, their behavior does not always reflect their genuine emotions because under the veil of indifference is the invisible string of deep bonding, as shown in some research.
Cats purr loudly to express their happiness with their owners; many cats love snuggling. However, not all purrs are alike, and pet owners should be able to distinguish between a happy and a discontent purr. A sure sign of love is when your cat rubs its chin, paws, or cheeks on you. Cats have scent glands on these body parts, and it's a way to display publicly and show other cats that you are their person. It's a sign of closeness with you and an expression of love.
Ø Gifts from cats are a sign of love
Cats are fond of bringing gifts to the person they love. The gifts, some nice and some not so lovely, include a lattice ball, their favorite catnipped stuffed animal, or something you dislike, yet the cat considers a suitable gift, such as a dead animal. It might sometimes be even worse like a half-dead animal still hovering around your house. Your cat is bringing you the gifts because it considers you a part of the feline family and is keen to share its food with you.
They may want to impress you with their hunting skills and could even be an invitation to go hunting with them. However, you might not like the savage ways of cats while expressing love. To prevent or reduce the recurrence of such macabre gifting incidents or reduce it, you can consider fitting a breakaway collar with a bell around the cat's neck.
Ø Interacting with pets – the biological angle
When pets show their love for you, it triggers a biological response from your body. Research shows that the level of oxytocin, a love hormone goes up in the human body when interacting with dogs. The story of other neurochemicals also increases.
Oxytocin plays a prominent role in reproduction, bonding, and lactation, besides being a natural stress reliever. It's a neurotransmitter and a hormone that sends chemical messages across the body, causing changes like slower breathing, decreased heart rate, inhibition of stress hormones, and lower blood pressure. During positive interactions between humans and dogs, the same changes in oxytocin and other neurochemicals occur in both species. Effectively, both are happy, having contributed to each other's happiness.
Pets need to understand their owner but get closest to the person in the household who gives them the most attention and feeds them. Therefore, how you behave with and care for pets matters most in creating a deep bond with the animals that long for love. If you brought a puppy home and someone else cared for it, the bond of love and affection would be more for that person than for you.
The closer you get to your pet, the better will be the reciprocation that develops into a deep bond over time. The more attention and affection you shower upon your pet, the deeper their love for you will be.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
